Australian International Documentary Conference reveals theme and line-up

The Southern Hemisphere’s premier industry forum and marketplace for documentary and factual content – the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) – has revealed the first confirmed guests and theme for its 2023 conference.

Thanks to the support of Principal Partner VicScreen, Presenting Partners ACMI and Screen Australia, and Major Partners ABC and SBS, AIDC 2023 will take place in-person from 5-8 March 2023 at ACMI, Melbourne, followed by an online international marketplace, 9-11 March 2023.

American documentary filmmaker Sara Dosa, director of the award-winning feature doc Fire of Love (Nat Geo/Madman), about volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, is the first speaker to be announced for the 2023 line-up, and will lead AIDC’s Spotlight program with a very special In Conversation session. Fire of Love has recently been listed as a frontrunner in the 2023 Oscars race by Indiewire, Variety, and the Hollywood Reporter, and has recently been nominated for seven US Critics’ Choice Awards including Best Documentary Feature and Best Director.

Also confirmed is Delhi-based filmmaker and writer Shaunak Sen, whose feature documentary All That Breathes won the L’Oeil d’Or (Golden Eye) for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance International Film Festival, and the Grierson Award in Documentary Competition at the BFI – London Film Festival. All That Breathes was selected for AIDC’s FACTory international pitching showcase in 2021 under the title Airborne and AIDC is thrilled to have Shaunak now join the conference as a speaker.

On the industry expertise front, Fatima Salaria, Managing Director of UK Production Company Naked Television, will bring her extensive knowledge of successful specialist factual and factual entertainment to Australian producers, having worked across programs like Grand Designs, 60 Days on the Streets, The Day I Picked My Parents, and the recently announced Planet Sex fronted by Cara Delevingne.

Rounding out the first speaker announcement is Emmy Award-winning Moroccan-American filmmaker Rita Baghdadi, director of the acclaimed feature doc Sirens, about an all-female thrash metal band in Lebanon. The documentary has been an audience favourite at Sundance, Tribeca, Melbourne and Sydney film festivals, and won awards at Outfest, Sun Valley and Florida film festivals. Rita is also the co-founder of Lady & Bird Films (Subject, Tribeca 2022), a highly sought-after cinematographer, and the director of award-winning documentaries My Country No More and City Rising.

AIDC has announced Agents of Change as the central theme for 2023, celebrating the people and the practices working to elevate documentary and factual storytelling. Through this theme, AIDC 2023 will highlight the changemakers of nonfiction storytelling, and bring focus to the champions of the craft leading the way for the creation of bold stories with real world impact.

AIDC CEO and Creative Director Natash Gadd, said, “During this time of cultural, political and social unrest, documentary filmmakers continue to document and explore the ever changing forces of the world around us. Far from passive observers, they are also active drivers of change both in the way we craft stories and the impact these stories create. AIDC’s 2023 theme, Agents of Change, spotlights the people, ideas and practices challenging and evolving the ways we create, share and experience nonfiction stories – from the visionaries to the provocateurs, innovators and iconoclasts. In a world of continuous disruption – both in our sector and society at large – join us at AIDC 2023 as we explore the legacy of those who paved the way, the new voices leading the charge, and what potential futures lie ahead!”

Under the theme Agents of Change, AIDC 2023 will explore the following subthemes through keynotes, industry panels and initiatives: Upcoming (new voices, new audiences), Breaking Ground (truth-telling, investigation and impact), Shifting Perspectives (craft, storytelling and representation), In Focus (advocacy, reform, ethics and integrity), and Future Horizons (innovation, technology, sustainability and regeneration).